One Short Moment
by Kari-chan-06
Summary: Sequel to “Demons of the Past. About a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call. She disappears and her friends start to wonder why.
1. The Call

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past". About a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call. She disappears and her friends start to wonder why.

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1- The Call

Kate was finishing up her report on a recent case when she noticed Gibbs coming in. He had taken half of the day off, not telling anyone why, but she had known immediately. It had been a month since the team had learned about his son and the tragic events that had occurred 12 years ago. He had told her that he still needed time to get over it and she knew that he was taking this time right now.

Gibbs didn´t talk about feelings and emotions, but all knew that they were there. It didn´t matter how often he denied having such a thing as a heart, they still knew he was pretending. Somehow, it had brought them closer together. She smiled a bit when she realized how much their team resembled a family of some kind. Her thoughts were interrupted, when the phone on her desk started to ring. "Todd, NCIS." She answered, noticing that the call was not coming from within the office.

"Miss Caitlin Todd?" A voice asked and she really wondered what this call was about. She didn´t recognize who it was, but for some reason felt a cold chill running down her back. It was kind of an instinct. Usually, it meant nothing good.

"Yes." She replied and turned around to hide her face from her co-workers as she continued to listen. Whatever this was about, it was to be private and she wanted to keep it that way. "She is...but I...no, it´s not...it can´t be..." She started, but her voice broke. Kate sat at her desk, staring into thin air, but she didn´t even listen anymore. "I´m on my way." She simply said and dropped the phone. She caught Tony looking in her direction. Without thinking about it for more than a second, she gathered her belongings and bolted out of the bullpen.

Tony and McGee looked at each other and then at their boss. Gibbs had looked up from his computer when Kate ran past his desk. There was a look of confusion on his face and he raised an eyebrow, which was a sign that he was surprised. "Kate!" He called after her, but she didn´t turn around. Frowning, he walked into the elevator. "I need coffee..." He muttered and saw both agents grinning at this.

When the doors closed, he tried to gather his thoughts. Something was wrong, that much was for sure. He knew Kate well enough to note that she would normally never behave like this. She would have told him if there was anything wrong with her family, so that possibility ruled out already. That phone call must have had something to do with her strange behavior.

When the elevator reached the exit, he changed his mind and punched another button. The doors closed again and reopened a few seconds later to reveal the lab. "Abbs, can you trace the last call that was made to Kate´s phone?" He asked as he walked in, having to shout because the music was rather loud.

Only when he reached the stereo and shut the music off, Abby spun around. "Hello to you too, my wonderful wizard." She greeted him, receiving a raised eyebrow as an answer. "Terrestrial or cell?"

"Terrestrial." He answered and leaned against the desk. Sometimes he wondered how she could hear anything with her music playing, but decided not to ask her about it. Kate´s behavior was really bothering him right now.

"What you need it for, boss-man? Jealous?" Abby asked in her cheerful manner and was a bit surprised, when he shot a gaze at her that could burn through five inches of steel. "Wow...easy, I was just joking, okay?" She raised her hands in defeat before turning back to the computer. "Says Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I need a couple of minutes to trace it to some address."

"When you got it, call me." Gibbs said and headed back into the elevator. Both McGee and Dinozzo looked at him when he walked back into the bullpen. "Dinozzo, does Kate have any relatives in North Carolina?" He asked and watched as the younger agent turned towards his computer.

"Doesn´t say so in her file. Family is located in Iowa, that´s way off. Why North Carolina, boss?" Tony asked after checking her file.

Gibbs sat down at his desk and thought about it all. "McGee, I need to know if there is any link between Kate and Winston-Salem in North Carolina. Check with the Secret Service if you have to. Dinozzo, try to get a hold of her and let me know when you get her. I don´t care how you manage that, just do it. I don´t care if you go through her stuff either." With that, he walked back into the elevator.

Tim watched him go, a very puzzled look on her face. "Tony, am I going mental or did he just sound worried?"

Dinozzo had leaned back on his chair and was struggling to regain his composture as the last comment from Gibbs had surprised him. Usually, he told Tony off for bugging into the privacy of his fellow agents. "Bambino, if you are, I am as well. Damn, I mean, Gibbs just asked me to go through her desk...Either something is really screwed up or they put drugs into his coffee."

Walking back into the lab, Gibbs found Abby waving a piece of paper at him. "Traced the call back to Wake Forest University Medical Center. Phone there is registered to a certain Terry Garner. I checked her out. She´s a neurosurgeon at Brenner Children´s Hospital, which is located on-site." She said and looked at him to explain what this was about, but didn´t get an answer. She handed him the printout with all information and smiled. "Printed it all out for you."

Gibbs smiled back and took it from her. "Good thinking, Abbs." He returned to the elevator and looked over the information. He sat back down at his desk and stared at the monitor for a moment. He didn´t want them to notice how worried he was. It was not like Kate to just bolt out, no matter how urgent it was. He tried calling her on her cell, but it was turned off. He tried her apartment as well, but only got the answering machine.


	2. Emily

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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2- Emily

Kate still felt her heart beating like mad. It had been almost 5 hours now since she had bolted out of the office, but time didn´t really matter to her. Straightening her back, she walked into the lobby of the hospital and right up to the front desk. The nurse who sat there looked at her. "Caitlin Todd. Dr. Garner is waiting for me." She said and was sent up to the third floor.

A woman in a blue jumpsuit greeted her at the door. "Miss Todd? It´s good you made it so quickly. Please take a moment to change and calm down." She told her and directed Kate towards the changing room. Kate followed her and found herself changed into a green gown only moments later. The doctor lead her to a small room, which she knew just too well. "We´ve really done all we can, but it´s been five years now and her breathing is getting worse. We suspect a starting pneumonia. It is your decision what to do. EEG hasn´t shown any significant activity since six weeks ago, reflexes are completely missing. It is up to you to decide." She said and left again.

Kate stood next to the bed and just cried. She had been fearing for this moment to come for so many years now. "I always thought you would make it, Emily. I always hoped you would be strong." She whispered as tears rolled down her face. She knew there was no way to turn back, but she had tried to look forward for so long and it hadn´t helped. A few minutes had changed her life so drastically, but it had been so many years she had thought that the demons were gone for good. Right now, she felt them coming back to haunt her again. "I can´t do this, Emily. Help me." She buried her face in her hands and felt memories floating back to her.

"_Emily, stay away from the pool, I will come in a moment." A woman stuck her head out from the livingroom and watched the girl who was playing near bright blue. Making sure that the girl was not too close to the edge, she turned back to the house to prepare dinner. "She´s still playing with her stuffed bear." She told the second woman who was cutting up some chicken._

"_She really is a sunshine. I can´t remember the time before she came into my life. It wasn´t easy, but yet it´s been the right decision." She replied and put the chicken into the oven. She watched her sister setting the table and washed her hands in the sink._

"_Emily? Would you like some juice with your dinner?" The first woman called out into the backyard after setting the table, but there was no sound. When she stepped out to look for her, she felt like dying. A lifeless body floated in the pool, her stuffed animal just inches away from her. A short moment ago, the world had been perfect, but one short moment later, everything had changed._

"Miss Todd? If you would like to stay the night, I can arrange for a second bed in here." A nurse said and made her jump. Kate nodded slightly, feeling numb and exhausted all of the sudden. She wanted to cry, but there were no more tears left. She knew that her sister couldn´t help her with this decision as she had died two years ago. Instead of going to sleep, Kate got up and walked out of the room. As she walked into the fresh night air outside the building, it hit her like a bullet. She had bolted out of the office without any notice, shutting down her cell as soon as she had reached her car. Gibbs was probably putting her picture on a wanted poster right now with the charming line "dead or alive" on it.

She checked her watch -it was almost midnight already, but somehow she had the feeling that she needed to make at least this one call. He would probably kill her anyway, so it didn´t matter if she woke him up after disappearing in the middle of a work day. Looking at her watch again, she tried calling his house, but she only got his answering machine. He couldn´t possibly be at the office or could he? She was about to try his cell, but then changed her mind and dialed his phone at the office. It only rang once. "Gibbs." He sounded anything but sleepy, maybe a bit angry and tired, but she had definetely not woken him up. All the words she had planned to say were gone the same second. There was just silence. "Kate?" She wondered how he knew that it was her.

"Yes, it´s me." She replied and noted that her voice gave away how tired she really felt.

"Kate, where are you? What´s wrong?" He immediately asked, but she couldn´t bring herself to tell him yet. She just didn´t know how. A part of her noticed that he sounded worried, but another part was too tired to get that undertone in his voice.

"I...I need some days off." She finally said and there was another silence.

She heard him take a deep breath. "Kate, where are you? What is this about?"

"Please, I...not right now..." Kate felt new tears rising into her eyes. "Sorry." She told him and shut the phone off again. A little voice in her head told her that she had messed up big ways . He was going to kill her, resurrect her and then kill her again for this.

Half an hour later, she returned into the small room and sat down next to the little girl.Her tears had dried, but she still felt empty. She continued to watch the girl, stroking her head softly until she finally fell asleep, half lying on the bed, her head leaned against the girl´s head.


	3. Finding her

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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3- Finding her

Gibbs knew why he had decided to spend the night at the office. For one thing he wanted to catch up on some reports, but besides that he wanted to be there in case Kate came back. Her behavior that afternoon had not only surprised him greatly, it also had him rather worried. He had thought that she trusted him. The phone on his desk started ringing and he picked it up. "Gibbs." There was just silence for a moment, but he could hear someone breathing. "Kate?" He tried and felt relieved when he heard her voice. On the other hand he realized how tired she sounded and his gut feeling told him that something was very wrong.

When the line went dead again, he made a decision. Picking up the information Abby had printed out for him, he got into his car. The city of Winston-Salem was about 350 miles from Washington, not quite a short trip. He made it in just under 4 hours and pulled into the parking lot. He had never been to this part of North Carolina, but hospitals always looked alike. The guard at the front door eyed him suspiciously. "Sir, visiting hours are only until 8 pm. If it´s not an emergency, I have to ask you to come back tomorrow morning." He said and received a gaze that would have even Dinozzo seeking cover.

"This is an emergency and don´t call me sir." Gibbs told him, but the man didn´t move. Only when he pulled out his badge and gun, the doors opened for him and a rather confused nurse ducked behind her desk. "Caitlin Todd." He barked at her and she looked at him with questionmarks in her eyes. "Where do I find Miss Caitlin Todd?" He repeated the question a bit slower and tried to calm his breathing.

"Sir, if you´re not immediate family, I can´t tell you any personal information." She said and swallowed when she saw the look on his face. "Uhm...I take it then you are..." She looked at the gun he was still holding in his hand. "Third floor, ward B. Ask for Emily Todd. She´s with her." The nurse finally told him and he put his gun away.

"Thank you." He said and headed for the staircase. Somehow, he didn´t feel like waiting for the elevator. His mind was racing as he jumped two or three stairs at once, almost knocking over a young doctor who happened to stand close to the door when he pulled it open. "Where can I find Emily Todd?" He asked and was lead to a plain door at the end of the hallway.

He just stood there for a few seconds and tried to picture what was going on behind that door. Kate had never mentioned anyone named Emily in her family. Maybe she had a sister going by that name, but never mentioned it. Maybe a niece. He knew she had a sister, but he remembered something about her telling him that her sister had been in a car crash. Gibbs opened the door and found himself in a semi-dark room. The only light came from a small light on a nightstand and some monitors. He closed the door behind him and looked around for a moment. There were two beds, the first one was occupied, the second one hadn´t been used.A figure was half sitting, half lying next to the bed. He took a step into the room and recognized his missing agent asleep next to the bed.

He wasn´t sure what to do now. He had found Kate, but he wasn´t sure what to make of this. She was not aware of his presence yet. Taking another step, he could see her face in the dim light now. Her mascara was smeared and black streaks lead down her face. She must have cried a lot recently. He got a soft cover from the second bed and put it over her shoulders. She stirred briefly, but didn´t wake up. Knowing Kate, he realized that she was completely exhausted. Otherwise he would have had her gun on his head already. Her reflexes were top of the notch there normally.

He at down on the second bed and watched the scene in front of him. In the first bed lay a girl, no older than 10 years, if he had to take a guess, probably even younger. She had long brown hair that fanned out over the pillow. With all those machines, she looked fragile and lost somehow. His attention returned to the room when Kate suddenly shot up with an outcry. The cover fell off her shoulders, but she didn´t seem to have noticed him yet. Her breathing calmed down after a moment and she pulled a strand of hair from the girls face. "Kate?" He asked softly and she almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice.

He watched her shoulders tightning and slowly got up. She didn´t turn around yet. "What you doing here?" She finally asked and again he noticed the strain that lay in her voice.

Putting his hands onto her shoulders, he felt her shaking slightly. "I was worried about you." That was the truth more or less. He was curious about all of this, but knew that he shouldn´t ask her about it right now. She would tell him when she was ready. "Is there anywhere to get some coffee?" He asked, mainly to say anything, but also to get out of this room for a moment.

Kate nodded and got up, leading him to a small break room at the other end of the hall. She didn´t say anything and just slumped down onto a chair when they got there. He got two cups of coffee and sat down as well, looking at her more closely. "You should be sleeping, Kate. You look awful."

She managed a smile. "You came here to tell me that?" It was an attempt tosound a bit cheeful, but she failed miserably. Their eyes met and she noticed that he was really worried about her -not as her boss, but as a friend. Kate remembered the one night at his house when he had told her about his son. She remembered how he had allowed himself to cry in front of her and suddenly wondered why she was still trying to hide from him.

Gibbs reached out and put his hand on her arm. "Whenever you´re ready to talk about it, I´m there." He said and she looked up, tears in her eyes once again. He pulled his chair over until he sat right next to her and pulled her into an embrace. "What happened, Kate?"


	4. Decision

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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4- Decision

With the first tear falling down her face, Kate started to speak, actually it was more like a whisper, but at least, she found words to express her feelings now. "Emily fell into the pool when she was four years old. They didn´t know how long she had been under water." She said and leaned against his shoulder. She didn´t actually think about who was with her at this moment. The sound of his heartbeat calmed her down somehow. "She...she wasn´t breathing, but they got her back. She´s been in coma ever since, hasn´t woken up at all. Brenner´s is one of the best facilities in the country and Ally used to live close to it too..." She pulled herself up a bit until she could look into his blue eyes.

For a moment, there was silence while Gibbs tried to process the information she had given him. "So, when your sister died, you took over the task to care for her?" He asked and watched a smile creeping over her face. This reaction surprised him a bit, but he wasn´t prepared for what came next.

"Emily is not my niece, Gibbs." Kate looked into his blue eyes and hesitated for a moment. "She´s my daughter." These simple words changed everything. "She´s been like this for five years. She would have turned 10 in September, you know. She´s my little angel... " Kate whispered and he noted that exhaustion was finally starting to take its toll on her. Gibbs was actually lost for words at this. He knew that she needed to rest right now, so he simply lead her back to Emily´s room where she fell asleep on the spare bed a few moments later, still sobbing softly.

About an hour later a nurse stuck her head in. "Oh, she´s finally asleep, that´s good." She said and went in to check some of the IVs over ther girl´s bed. "She´s been here every weekend for as long as I work here -and that´ll be almost four years next summer. Terrible thing this is. I doubt I could take it as well if it was my daughter lying there." She added and left again. Gibbs remained between the two beds, unmoving and still completely lost for words. He didn´t know what to make of the whole situation. He knew what it meant to lose a child, but this here didn´t even come close to his demons.

At some point, he must have dozed off because he was woken by a soft voice calling his name. "Jethro?" He shot up and looked into Kate´s brown eyes hovering above him. It startled him that she was using his first name again -eventhough he didn´t mind, those occasions were rare.

"What time is it?" He asked and got up, trying hard to keep his face straight. The muscles in his back screamed in pain as he tried to stretch. Hospital chairs were not designed to sleep in them, that was for sure. She did look a bit better, but there were still dark circles under her eyes.

She checked her watch. "Barely 8 am, why?" She asked, then looked at him. Realization dawned on her face. "You didn´t tell anyone when you came here, did you?" Kate asked and smiled a bit. "Now there´s two of the team missing, Tony must be going through hell right now."

"Or he already started to put his magazines and posters up around my desk. I need to go and call him up. Will you be okay for a few minutes?" He asked and she just nodded. Out in the hallway, he got his cell out and dialed Dinozzo´s number at NCIS.

"Dinozzo." came the prompt answer and he could hear McGee and Abby talking about something in the background.

"Tell Abby she should be working on that DNA, Dinozzo. I want some results when I´m back." Gibbs said and noted that the talking subsided immediately.

"Where are you, boss? You had us worried. Morrow already sent your picture to the local Starbuck´s stores for identification. The one at the corner said they´ll be out of business if you´re away for more than two days in a row." Tony said, sounding rather cheerful.

Gibbs sighed. Normally, he would have had some remark to fire at his agent, but today, he didn´t feel like it. "I´ll be gone until tomorrow or maybe a day longer. You can leave me a message on my voice mail, because I have my cell turned off. Is Ducky around by any chance?" He then asked as he had heard the elevator opening in the background.

"Actually, no. He´s been down in autopsy since he got here. Shall I tellhim anything?" Dinozzo asked, but Gibbs denied and put the phone away as he saw Kate coming towards him. She had pulled her hair into a ponytail, which made her look even more worn out actually.

"Do you mind going out for some breakfast? I´m starving." Kate asked when she reached him. "I pay." She added immediately, but he shook his head.

"No, you´re not. I´m paying. You look like you could really use some food. When was the last time you ate?" He asked as he pulled her towards the changing room. He was glad to get rid of the gown for a while.

"I don´t know." She told him, which was probably true. "Probably breakfast yesterday or something like that." The strain in her voice was still there, but not as obvious as the night before, which was probably a good thing.

Gibbs asked a nurse for the closest place to have decent coffee and found a Starbuck´s just two blocks from the hospital.He ordered two large coffee and a variety of sandwiches as he wasn´t sure which one she would eat. Inspite of sleeping a few hours last night, she seemed to be exhausted, but he tried not to let her notice how worried he was. "Thank you for telling me about Emily." He finally said as they sat at a table in a far corner of the store.

Kate looked at him with a puzzled look on her face. "I should have told you earlier...When you told me about Leroy, I wanted to tell you, but then you had your personal demons to face at that time. You really didn´t need mine there as well." She said and for the first time, she didn´t try to hold back her tears anymore. A few tears ran down her face and left small pools of liquid on the table. "I need to let her go. I tried to hold her back, hoping that she would wake up, but she won´t." She said, her voice barely audible now. It took her much to make this decision -she had dreaded this moment for five years now, but today she felt that she could finally take that last step.


	5. Blind Passengers

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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5- Blind Passengers

An hour later, they walked back into the hospital. Gibbs put protective clothing on again, but he didn´t plan to follow her into Emily´s room. Kate walked to the office of Dr. Garner to tell her about her decision. He watched the little girl through the window and tried to see her without all the cables and tubes, but failed. Steps echoed behind him and he saw Garner and Kate closing in. He put his hand on Kate´s shoulder as she passed him, but instead of following the doctor through the door, she stopped and looked at him. "I don´t belong there." He told her, but she just shook her head and he felt her hand on his arm.

"Please, don´t let me do this alone. I´m scared." Kate looked at him and there were tears in her eyes again. He had never seen her scared like this. She had been shot at, taken hostage, stabbed and almost killed in the line of duty, but never before had he seen her so terrified. With a simple nod, he put his arm around her and followed her into the room.

Garner had unhooked some of the machines and pulled them away from the bed. "It´s your decision, Miss Todd. I will wait until you are ready." She said and just remained next to the bed, one hand resting on the headrest.

Kate stepped closer and let her fingertips brush over Emily´s face. "It´s time to go now, baby girl." She whispered and placed a kiss on the girl´s forehead. Gibbs stood a few feet back and felt his heart breaking again. His hands tightened into fists as he fought back the tears. He closed his eyes for a moment and could have sworn that he heard the voice of his son, telling him that it was okay. When he looked up again, Kate was still standing next to her daughter. "Mommy will let you go now. I love you, Emily. Goodbye."

Thesewords caused a single tear to escape his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hold it back. For a moment, he saw himself telling his boy these words, but he never had the chance. He took a step forward and wrapped his arms around Kate, who accepted the embrace willingly. He felt her shaking and put his chin on top of her head. "Leroy will take care of her, Katie. She´ll be fine." He said softlyand wondered where those words had suddenly come from.

The sound of the machines faded slowly and after two minutes, there was only complete silence. It took him a few moments to realize that Kate had almost gone limp in his embrace and he lowered her onto the floor, fearing that she had passed out. When he turned her around, he found her brown eyes looking at him. The pain in them seemed to be more than a single person could stand and he returned her gaze, trying to show her that she wasn´t alone. Words didn´t work for this. After what seemed like hours, Dr. Garner spoke up. "We will take her now. See me about further arrangements when you´re ready." She said and nodded at two nurses, who rolled the bed out of the room.

"Let´s get you a room at some motel. You need to sleep."Gibbs said after a while as he pulled Kate up to her feet again. He continued to hold her until he was sure that she could stand on her own.

"You never called me Katie before." She told him, completely ignoring his other statement. For a second there was a tiny smile playing on her lips. "I need to arrange for the funeral -and transport home..." She went on, but he took her shoulders and made her look at him.

"That wasn´t a question, Agent Todd. You´re not doing anyone a favor by collapsing from exhaustion." He said and lead her towards the elevator. She didn´t actually try to object, which was unlike Kate. There was a small motel just a block from the hospital and a mere hour later, Kate was sound asleep on the bed. Gibbs watched her for a few minutes before he walked out of the room and pulled his phone out.

"NCIS, Mallard." The voice at the other end of the line said and he felt that the following talk would be rather difficult, for both of them.

"Duck, it´s Jethro. Can we talk?" He asked and heard a door close somewhere near Ducky.

"Now we can, Jethro. Where are you? You really had us worried here." The doctor asked, clearly concerned. The picture of the older man pacing up and down in morgue, talking to some bodies sprang to Gibbs´ mind somehow.

"I need you to take the truck and come to the medical center in Winston-Salem, NC." Gibbs said and noted that his friend seemed clearly confused. "Don´t ask questions, Duck, just come over here."

"All right, I shall come immediately, but I am curious about your explanation for this, my friend." Mallard said and hung up again.

Gibbs continued to watch Kate for another three hours before heading back to the hospital. He sat on a bench out front, finishing his third cup of coffee as a very familiar truck pulled into the parking lot. Tossing the cup into a trashcan, he walked over. "Glad you made it so quickly." He greeted the doctor, who gave him a questioning look.

"Now, what did you make me drive 350 miles for, Jethro? It´s not about our Caitlin, is it?" Mallard inquired and looked concerned as he glanced up to the hospital building. He hadn´t told anyone where he was going and of course earned a lot of puzzled looks when he had suddenly announced that he would be gone for the rest of the day when it was barely noon. "Oh, and I believe that I have some blind passengers in the back of the truck." He added in a low voice as they walked away from the forensic´s truck.

Gibbs took a deep breath when he recognized the shadow a black pigtail in the small window that connected both parts of the truck. "I think I´ll need a lot of coffee after this...Duck, let´s go before they decide to jump out on us." He said and they disappeared into the building, heading straight for the morgue. "I need you to prepare a transport to Washington, Duck. Papers are signed and on file, ask for Dr. Garner when you´re ready." A lab technician lead them to the drawers that held the bodies of the decedents.

Ducky gave a startled sound when one of the drawers was opened and he could see the person on the table. The girl was a spitting image of Kate and even without having seen her eyes, both knew that they were a mirror image of Kate´s. "Now, are you going to tell me about this young lady, Jethro? It is obvious that there is a connection to our Caitlin."

Gibbs sighed. "Her name is Emily and she is Kate´s daughter. Now, don´t give me that look, Duck. I´ll explain it later, but we need to bring her home first. Kate´s in a motel nearby, so I´ll go get her while you prepare Emily for transport. I´m going to deal with the passengers in the back of your truck on the way. Call up Oak Hill, there´s a place next to Leroy that´s been reserved on my name...I think Kate will be okay with it." He told the older man and left again. This whole thing would cause a lot of emotional pain for the whole team. He knew that Kate and Tony were close, eventhough they still pretended to hate each other, but there were some subtle signs that they were more than just colleagues. Abby and Kate were best friends. Being the only women in a mainly male team, they had grown attached to each other. And McGee was like a younger brother for the rest of the team. They teased him a lot, but still everyone cared deeply about him.


	6. Learning the Truth

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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6- Learning the truth

Striding out into the parking lot, he headed directly for the truck, face rid of all emotions, trying to look at least a bit angry. Somehow, he was glad that they cared so much about each other for taking the risk of losing their job because of such a stunt. "DINOZZO!" Gibbs yelled and waited for a moment. "Out of that truck. RIGHT NOW!"

Three figures tumbled out of the truck, looking exhausted and blinking against the bright light. "Uhm, hi, boss." Dinozzo tried and ducked immediately when he noticed the look on Gibbs´ face. "We´re screwed." He muttered under his breath so that only Abby and McGee could hear him.

"Why in this world are you in the back of Ducky´s truck? And don´t dare to tell me you were cleaning and he accidentially took you along." Gibbs said, his voice being much calmer by now. "I´m waiting!" He tapped his food on the ground impatiently and had to hide the smile that was creeping up on him. He was proud to have such a wonderful team, but they had to bleed before they eventually learned that.

"Ducky almost bolted out of the building after he talked to you...where´s Kate?" Abby asked, stepping a bit forward. She had never been afraid to face him, no matter how bad the day was. It was something that he really liked about her. She was the only one who dared to standup to him in a situation like this. That was one of the reasons he had gotten her onto the team in the first place.

Gibbs pointed at a bench that stood in front of the hospital. "Sit! All three of you!If you move as much as an inch from that bench, I will tie your shoelaces to the rear endof the truck and have you run back to Washington. Got that?" He snapped at them and watched them race each other for that bench. After a moment, he walked to his car and grinned widely. Glancing back, he saw all three sitting on the bench, looking mortified. "They deserve that much." He told himself and drove to the motel.

Kate was still asleep, stirring as he sat down next to her. "Kate, wake up." He said softly and put his hand on her shoulder. She opened her eyes and he noticed that she looked a bit better now. "We need to go."

She sat up and just looked at him for a moment. "I had the strangest dream...Emily was playing hide and seek with some boy...he looked a lot like yours." She said and noted a slightly surprised look on his face.

"He´ll take care of her." Gibbs replied and had to fight back some tears again. He knew what she was going through now and what she would go through during the following days. It wouldn´t be easy, but knowing Kate, he felt that she could do it. Without thinking much about it, he pulled her into a hug and felt her arms around him for a few seconds. They shared the pain of losing a child, which formed a special bond in this moment.

While Kate went straight for the car, he paid for the room and picked up some coffee for both of them. It was just a five minute drive and he knew that he had to tell her before she actually saw the forensic truck or the three people still sitting on a bench. "Ducky´s here. He´ll bring her home and take care of all arrangements. I hope you´re okay with that." He said as he pulled off the main road and drove into the parking lot.

She smiled a bit. "It´s fine." She told him and looked out again, her jaw dropping as she recognized three people sitting on a bench. "You told them?"

He shook his head. "Nope -they´ve been hiding in the back of the truck. Kinda like blind passengers. They´re just worried about you." Gibbs smiled a bit when he saw their heads shooting up as he parked the car. "I´ll leave it to you to tell them. I think they got my message on this." He said with a mischievous sparkle in his blue eyes.

Kate got out and stood close to the car for a moment. Her hair was tangled and barely held up in the ponytail and the dark circles under her eyes told the rest of the story. Abby jumped up and ran over to hug her. "You´re okay, I´m so glad." She said and looked concerned as she noticed how tired her friend looked. "What´s wrong, Kate?"

Dinozzo and McGee came up as well now, hugging Kate one after the other. "You really scared me, Kate." Tony admitted and tried to read her eyes, but they were not giving her away. Hearing this from him really surprised her, but she was grateful that he seemed to grow up a bit, at least for a few moments.

They walked into the hospital and sat down in a waiting area. Kate looked at her hands for a few seconds and felt a reassuring touch on her back. Tony sat next to her, worry in his eyes. "I...it´s not easy to talk about this...I...Emily was in a coma for almost five years. She had taken a turn to worse a few days ago, that was the call I got. She...she died today." She started and watched their questioning looks. "Emily is...was...my daughter."

Abby just stared at her friend, eyes wide and jaw dropped through the floor. Without a word, she came over and hugged Kate tight. They talked about almost everything and she was just shocked to learn about this. For a short second, she remembered something of her own past, but put it away. She didn´t need her demons to come out and haunt her. Everyone had those personal demons and Abby knew that she would have to face hers some time, but right now that time hadn´t come yet. "I´m sorry, Kate."

They talked for a while and Kate realized how much these people meant to her. They had risked their health and jobs riding in the back of Ducky´s truck. They had come here to see her without knowing what was going on. She could see that they were still shocked as they returned to the parking lot an hour later and started the drive back to Washington. McGee and Abby were going with Ducky while Tony got into the back of Gibbs´ car with Kate. She fell asleep after a few minutes, her head resting against his shoulder.


	7. Final Goodbye

One short moment

Disclaimer: I don´t own any characters or anything

Summary: Sequel to "Demons of the past", about a month after Gibbs tells the team about his son, Kate gets a call at work. When she disappears, her colleagues start to wonder…

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7- Final Goodbye

Only a small group had gathered in the small chapel on Oak Hill cemetery on this rainy spring day. They had come to say goodbye to a girl they had never met, but still they felt as if they had known her for a long time. The small coffin was decorated with white and red roses, a bed of flower on the floor below. Kate sat in the front row, not listening to a word the chaplain said. Her eyes were fixed on the coffin as tears were streaming down her face. If she had looked to either side, she would have noticed the worried looks her friends cast at her.

Gibbs sat on her right side, his hand casually resting on her arm, trying to reassure her, but he knew that she didn´t even realize it was there. He hadn´t realized it when his wife had done the same for him on Leroy´s funeral. He noted that Tony had his hand on her other arm, obviously trying to do the same thing. Ducky sat behind him with Abby and McGee.

Half an hour later the group followed the coffin that was carried towards a freshly dug grave. Except for Ducky and Gibbs, none knew about the site so far. Kate had pulled close to Tony and Gibbs as they had left the chapel and both had an arm wrapped around her as they walked across the cemetery. To any outsider it must have looked odd. When they came to a stop, Kate looked at the grave that lay next to the one that would become Emily´s and her head spun around until she looked into his blue eyes. She could see a few tears glistening in them, which was probably a very rare sight.

They watched in silence as the coffin was lowered into the grave. The chaplain waited for them to step up for the final goodbye. Kate pulled free from her two co-workers and stepped up to the grave. She held a single rose and a small bear in her hands. "Be good. I love you, Emily." She whispered as she watched both items fall into the grave. The sound of the bear hitting the wooden top of the coffin made her cringe and she had to pull herself together to make the few steps back to her friends.

She leaned on Tony, burying her face into his chest as new tears started to flow. He held her tight as he watched their boss walking up to the still open grave. He had pulled a rose out of his coat and tossed it down now. His lips were moving, but the words could not be heard. For a second, Tony gazed at the tombstone that was shaped like a book and lay on the adjacent grave. He swallowed as he read the name on it and suddenly realized why he had seemed so absentminded all day long.

When Gibbs came back, he took Kate from Tony and let him walk up to the grave. Kate was sobbing softly, leaning into his embrace. They stayed like this until McGee had walked up to the grave as the last of them to say goodbye. They slowly walked back to the parking lot. "Tony, can you stay with her tonight?" He asked his agent, who looked at him a bit surprised, but nodded. "See that she takes tomorrow off and gets some rest -the last days were hard." He added and walked to his car, watching how Abby and McGee walked with Ducky.

-3 days later-

Kate had taken the rest of the week off before she felt ready to return to work. Tony had been with her for a day before she had finally convinced him that she was okay. He had been the sweetest person around her and she was grateful for this. He couldn´t relate to what she was going through, but he tried not to let it show and just be there. She hadn´t spoken to Gibbs since the funeral and he had left early today. She had to ask him something and planned to do so the following morning at work.

Around 6 pm, she drove to Oak Hill for a short visit. She had a few white roses to put onto the grave and slowly walked down the way that lead her to the large oak tree underneath which Emily was buried. Walking closer, she noticed a lone figure standing there. She knew who it was immediately and stopped at his side. Both didn´t talk for a while until she had put the roses down. "How are you doing?" He finally asked and she could tell that he either had a cold or had been crying.

"Okay, I guess. It takes some time." She replied and then looked at him. "Thank you." She added and saw him looking back at her.

"What for?" He replied and the look in his eyes told her that he had indeed been crying.

"For being a friend." Kate said and smiled a bit. There wasn´t anything else to be said. She knew that she could return here every time she wanted and felt that her demons had given up for now. Maybe they would come back later, but for now, she felt that everything would be okay somehow. Taking his hand, she started to walk back to the exit, knowing that her daughter had someone watching over her now, just like Kate had someone. She had never imagined that this person could be Gibbs, but he had that different side, only that he managed to hide it most of the time.

END


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